Rebecca's Gift

Rebecca was fierce.

She beat adults in staring contests when she was two weeks old. Rebecca was joyful. Her laugh could fill a room and bring a smile to anyone who heard it. Rebecca was stubborn. She would often refuse to give in, even when it cost her something she wanted. Rebecca was kind, and loving, and mischievous, and oh so very ticklish. She loved frosting, ice cream, the beach, carnival rides, and her family.

Rebecca rarely smiled in pictures. She would stick her tongue out, or make funny faces, or look like she had the best secret in the world and wasn’t going to share. She vibrated with energy, always dancing joyfully through life, always a laugh at the ready. Her philosophy was essentially: never walk when you can skip, never skip when you can run, never run when you can dance, and never dance when you can hide yourself around the next corner and then gleefully yell “BOO!” when everyone else finally catches up with you.

Rebecca never had a chance. We were told after her first tumor was biopsied that if another tumor appeared, all we could do was watch her die. There were no studies to try to prevent the reoccurrence of the tumor. Once it did recur, there were very limited study options, none of which were life saving—only life prolonging. This is typical of so many types of tumors. This is why the money raised by St. Baldrick's is so important, and why we have chosen to partner with St. Baldrick's to raise money to focus on glioblastoma research. Together, the money we raise can be used to help understand and one day cure glioblastoma.